Daniel,

The "best" new motherboards usually come with PCI-express, so if you are
looking for long life, you will probably want to go with the PCI-express.
AGP is at "end of life." It has pretty much maxed out it available band
width. AGP 8X has a max speed of 2,100 MB/s while PCI Express 16x has a max
of 4000 MB/s [8000 MB/s as PCI-Express can transmit in both directions].

Some inexpensive PCI-Express cards utilize shared memory and, IMO, should be
avoided.

I have had good luck with Gigabyte motherboards and they come in many
different flavors supporting AMD and Intel cpus. I favor the nVidia chipsets
and AMD processors. My personal bias and others will differ. I have build
several inexpensive computers with ASROCK (a inexpensive line related to
ASUS) motherboards with VIA chipsets. One has been running 24/7 for almost a
year as a HTPC (home theatre personal computer) without a problem.

Make sure and match your components. Don't purchase the most expensive video
card and match it with a low end, underpowered cpu/motherboard. I don't do
any gaming and find video cards in the $100-$200 range acceptable. You don't
need SLI (a system for using a matched pair of video cards in a single
system for faster gaming), so don't purchase a motherboard that supports
SLI. This will also save you a few bucks.

Have fun planning and building your new system. And, good luck. Let us know
if you need additional advice and how things work out.

Jim Maki
[log in to unmask]




> -----Original Message-----
> From: daniel

>
> Hi to all:
> I was very happy when I found this great resouce.
> I am in the process of building my first PC. I have a
> plethora of questions. Mostly around motherboard selection.
> First I will describe my needs. I am not a gamer. I am
> looking to build a computer that will not be obsolete in the
> near future. I want the ability to upgrade.
> I don't know whether I should get an MB which supports AGP or
> PCI Express. Should I go for the PCI Express because it is
> later technology, or the AGP because it is proven technology?
> I am also concerned that if I go for the AGP option, video
> cards will not be available in the future if I need a replacement.
> I would greatly appreciate suggestions on motherboards.
>
> Thanks in advance:
>
> Daniel

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